𝕎𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕥𝕙 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟? 𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕤

Dr Siouxsie Wiles was named New Zealander of the Year for her work in science communication through Covid-19 and is an example of trust in experts, Jacqueline Rowarth says.

𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕄𝕚𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕖𝕝 𝔾𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕕 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕠𝕗 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕤, 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕟𝕠𝕟-𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕤 𝕒𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕕. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕝 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕦𝕝𝕜 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕤𝕙 𝕡𝕠𝕡𝕦𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕜.

But dig a bit deeper, and the comment by the then UK Justice Secretary was actually about economists. His context was the forecast of doom and gloom for the British people post-Brexitmade by organisations with acronyms (incomprehensible to the ordinary person) making statements about what would or wouldn’t happen in the future with varying degrees of success and no accountability. 

The context was not as widely reported as the first part of the statement. It is selective reporting of this type that assists with undermining credibility. In this case, however, it appears to have been journalists and government that suffered.

Trust barometers, such as the annual Edelman Survey, show that trust in all sources for general news and information is at an all-time low. Social media trust has, for instance, fallen from 40 per cent to 35 per cebe, and traditional media from 61 per cent to 53 per cent.

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The changes occurred between 2020 and 2021, but the survey, involving online responses of 33.000 people in 28 countries, was conducted towards the end of 2020.

Trust in the general populace (the 83 per cent of people aged 25-64, with no college degree, and no significant engagement with public policy and business news) is considerably lower than in the “informed” 17 per cent. 

In the US, 44 per cent of non-college people trusted institutions to do the right thing, in contrast to 62 per cent of informed people. In the UK, trust in institutions was only 43 per cent, in comparison with 59 per cent in the informed people. 

From these results, it would appear that Gove had a point when stating that people had had enough of experts. But as the overall figure for trust in government leaders is now at only 41 per cent (down 2 per cent), he appears to have undermined his own institution.

When the survey was being done, many countries were enduring the ravages of Covid-19. And some still are. In those countries, medical health experts, scientists and academics were not as influential in influencing government action as they have been in New Zealand.

Here, college education is twice as high as the global average. OECD figures indicate that 43.8 per cent of people aged 25-34, and 30.2 per cent of those aged 55-64, are tertiary educated. 

The Edelman survey does not include New Zealand, but it is clear from the last year that people do trust the Government. As a result, New Zealand has managed to contain Covid-19.

Another example of trust in experts is Dr Siouxsie Wiles, a microbiologist at Auckland University, being awarded the title of New Zealander of the Year for her work in science communication through Covid-19.

Science communicators are often trying to set new results in context. They cite the researchers whose work they are quoting, and they check the validity of the research. This is important to protect their own credibility and prevent the dangers associated with spreading misinformation. 

This verification used to be the first step in ensuring news was reliable. Some of the current media reality appears to avoid that step.

Craig Silverman, author of the Tow report Lies, Damned Lies and Social Media, suggested that online media frequently promote misinformation in an attempt to drive traffic and social engagement. He found that, “Lies spread much farther than the truth, and news organisations play a powerful role in making this happen”. The problem is that stories are designed to create emotional responses in the audience. Wharton Business School researchers have anger, anxiety, disgust, awe, excitement and humour are the drivers for sharing. So headlines are designed to create reaction.

More research, this time from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, found that false news stories are 70 per cent more likely to be retweeted than true stories and that even a single exposure to a fake headline makes it seem truer.

The role of experts should be to debunk as soon as possible – and it is effective (research from Harvard University reports the “surprising value of debunking fake news after exposure, with important implications for the fight against misinformation”).

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This can create confusion for readers about whom to believe. The answer is the person with the credentials in the topic under debate. 

Only a third of people globally are ready to have the Covid-19 vaccine “as soon as possible”. Medical experts rather than social media should be the source of information. Auckland University vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris, a semifinalist for New Zealander of the Year 2020, has calculated that you are more likely to be hit by lightning than suffer a blood clot after a Covid vaccine, but consequences can be dire for those who do.

Though people might say that they have had enough of experts, they do want to stay healthy. They also want to have a profitable lifestyle. Experts have an important role in both, whatever the statement from the Northern Hemisphere.

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